Neurocrine Biosciences Leadership

Kevin C. Gorman, Ph.D is a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences. Currently CEO, he previously served as Chief Operating Officer after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development. From 1990 until joining Neurocrine in 1993, Dr. Gorman was a principal of Avalon Medical Partners, L.P. where he was responsible for the early stage founding of Neurocrine and several other biotechnology companies such as Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Metra Biosystems, IDUN and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.

Darin Lippoldt is Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Neurocrine Biosciences, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company. He joined Neurocrine in 2014, bringing extensive leadership experience in both developmental and commercial biotechnology. In his current position, he oversees all corporate legal matters, intellectual property, and compliance.



Prior to joining Neurocrine, Mr. Lippoldt served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Volcano Corporation. Before that, he served as Associate General Counsel at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He previously practiced corporate and securities law with the law firms of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP and Matthews and Branscomb, P.C.



Mr. Lippoldt received a B.B.A. in Finance, an M.A. in International Relations and a J.D. from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Experienced Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Skilled in Integrated Pharmaceutical Development and Clinical Development across therapeutic areas, including immunology, endocrinology and neuroscience. Experience in the development of novel Biomarkers and Medical Devices. Professional training in pharmacology and medicine from the University of London UK. Member and Fellow of Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom.

Eric Benevich was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in May 2015 and is responsible for all aspects of commercial development, marketing, and sales of the Neurocrine Biosciences product portfolio. Previously, Mr. Benevich was at Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., from 2005 to 2015, serving most recently as Vice President of Marketing where he was responsible for NUEDEXTA® and commercialization of their CNS pipeline. Mr. Benevich has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and previously served in various positions of increasing responsibility at Peninsula Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amgen, and AstraZeneca in the sales and marketing of drugs such as Enbrel®, Epogen®, and Prilosec®. Mr. Benevich has a BBA in International Business from Washington State University.

Julie Cooke was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2017. She joined Neurocrine Biosciences from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research Institute where she served as Senior Vice President for Human Resources and was a member of the executive management team. Previously, Ms. Cooke held multiple positions at Life Technologies, including being the human resource partner to the Chief Operating Officer, Division Presidents, and Global Function Leads. Prior to Life Technologies, she ran human resources and was a member of the executive management team at SGX Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Cooke began her career at PepsiCo., The Pepsi Bottling Group, and Gateway, where she held positions of increasing responsibility in human resources. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Colorado College.

Kyle W. Gano, Ph.D. was appointed Chief Business Development Officer in 2011, and Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer in 2020, and is responsible for all business and corporate development activities, including the management of ongoing collaborations with AbbVie, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, BIAL, Jnana Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Xenon Pharmaceuticals, and Idorsia Ltd. From 2001 to 2011, Dr. Gano held several positions of increasing responsibility at Neurocrine Biosciences spanning marketing analytics to business development. Dr. Gano received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon, B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry and M.B.A in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Matthew Abernethy is the Chief Financial Officer at Neurocrine Biosciences, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Abernethy has 15 years of experience in the financial sector and investor relations with expertise in the healthcare industry, leading corporate finance activities and commercial supply chain operations, as well as information technology and investor relations functions.Mr. Abernethy joined Neurocrine from Zimmer Biomet, where he held various positions from February 2009 to November 2017, including most recently, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer and Vice President of Finance for the Americas and Global Product Engines. He began his career with KPMG LLP and is a certified public accountant. Mr. Abernethy earned a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Grace College and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Kevin C. Gorman, Ph.D is a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences. Currently CEO, he previously served as Chief Operating Officer after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development. From 1990 until joining Neurocrine in 1993, Dr. Gorman was a principal of Avalon Medical Partners, L.P. where he was responsible for the early stage founding of Neurocrine and several other biotechnology companies such as Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Metra Biosystems, IDUN and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.

Kevin C. Gorman, Ph.D is a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences. Currently CEO, he previously served as Chief Operating Officer after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development. From 1990 until joining Neurocrine in 1993, Dr. Gorman was a principal of Avalon Medical Partners, L.P. where he was responsible for the early stage founding of Neurocrine and several other biotechnology companies such as Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Metra Biosystems, IDUN and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.

Experienced Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Skilled in Integrated Pharmaceutical Development and Clinical Development across therapeutic areas, including immunology, endocrinology and neuroscience. Experience in the development of novel Biomarkers and Medical Devices. Professional training in pharmacology and medicine from the University of London UK. Member and Fellow of Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom.

Christopher O'Brien is CMO at Neurocrine Biosciences. He is responsible for all clinical development and medical affairs activities. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. O'Brien held positions at Elan Pharmaceuticals and Prestwick Pharmaceuticals where he managed the clinical development, registration and post-marketing trials in neurology, pain, and autoimmune diseases, among other CNS indications. Prior to joining Elan, Dr. O'Brien also served as Medical Director for over nine years with The Colorado Neurology Institute in Denver and simultaneously served as Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Columbia Swedish Medical Center and Medical Director of the National Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence. Dr. O'Brien earned his B.A. from Boston University and M.D. from the University of Minnesota.